The families of victims of IRA bombing attacks linked to Libya have demanded
that Gordon Brown fully support their bid to gain compensation from Colonel
Gaddafi.

Saif Gaddafi: Speaking in a television interview on Monday morning, Saif Gaddafi said the first response to any claim for a payout would be: 'No'Photo: SKY NEWS

By John Bingham and Jon Swaine

6:39PM BST 07 Sep 2009

Harrods Bomb, London

17 December 1983

The attack at Harrods, an emblem of the British establishment, came after a series of threats of a Christmas bombing campaign in London. It killed six people and injured 100. A 25-30lb bomb was left in a blue Austin 1300 parked in a side street near the department store in Kensington. It exploded at 1.20pm, while the streets were crowded with Christmas shoppers. Police responding to a coded warning received at 12.45pm arrived at the scene minutes before the blast. Three officers were among the dead and another 14 were among those injured. A second warning call was made at the time of the first explosion. It claimed that a second bomb had been placed in the heart of Oxford Street. The call caused extreme panic but turned out to have been a false alarm. Harrods reopened three days later, its owners promising they would not bow to terrorism.

• Kenneth Salvesden, 31, management consultant, an American from Chelsea

“Poppy Day bombing”, Enniskillen

8 November 1987

In one of the most reviled incidents of the Troubles, 11 people were killed and 63 injured as they waited for a Remembrance Sunday ceremony to begin at a war memorial in Enniskillen. Another died after being left in a coma until 2000. Several of the victims were elderly. A 40lb bomb, believed to have contained Semtex and gelignite, had been left hidden in a community hall behind the memorial. Its explosion caused a wall and tons of masonry to crush victims against a steel barrier. Widespread condemnation led to the IRA expressing “deep regret” for the attack the following day. Several experts on the conflict believe the attack was a turning point: a section of southern Irish opinion, which had accepted attacks on British soldiers, seemed revolted by this assault on innocent civilians.

The victims, all from the town

• William Mullan 74

• Nessie Mullan 73

• Kitchener Johnston, 71

• Jessie/Nessie Johnston, 62

• Wesley Armstrong, 62

• Bertha Armstrong, 55

• John Megaw, 67, a retired painter

• Edward Armstrong, 52, member of the RUCR

• Alberta (Georgina) Quinton, 72

• Marie Wilson, 20, a nurse

• Samuel Gault 49, a retired police officer

• Ronnie Hill, 68, school principal (died in 2000)

Jim Dixon, 72, who had to undergo facial reconstruction surgery after the blast, said: “The Libyan government supplied the Semtex and therefore it has a responsibility to compensate victims.

“Money won’t bring justice, but it will be an acknowledgement of what they have gone through. The women who were left without husbands, the young people who lost both their parents."

Baltic Exchange bombing, City of London

10 April 1992

At about 9.20pm a bomb comprising 100lb of Semtex and a ton of fertiliser exploded in the heart of the City, killing three people. The device, which had been left in a large white truck, came the day after the general election, when John Major’s government was returned to power. It caused about £700 million of damage. It left the front of the Baltic Exchange building at 30 St Mary Axe partially demolished and damaged several other buildings nearby. The first ambulance man on the scene attempted to revive the fatally injured teenager and never recovered from the emotional stress. Five months later he shot dead his girlfriend and, after several failed suicide attempts, was remanded to a secure psychiatric unit. The site is now home to the Swiss Re tower, better known as “The Gherkin”.

The victims:

• Danielle Carter, 15, schoolgirl, from Laindon, Essex

• Paul Butt, 29, from London

• Thomas Casey, 49, doorman from Dagenham, east London

Jeffrey Blum, 56, a maritime law lecturer, spent nine days in a coma after the Baltic Exchange bomb. He has met several former IRA men through reconciliation projects but believes Libya must still account for its role in the atrocities.

He said: “There is no amount of oil that could possibly replace the blood of the people who were killed but that doesn’t seem to have been taken into account by those who were advising Gordon Brown in the past.”

Warrington bombings, Cheshire

26 February and 20 March 1993

Two young boys were killed in a high street bomb blast one month after an attack on the town’s gas works. In the first attack, a huge fireball caused extensive damage, and a policeman was shot and injured after stopping a van connected to the attacks. In the second, at 12.12pm two IRA bombs exploded in cast-iron litter bins in a crowded shopping precinct. The first blast was said to have driven panicked shoppers into the next, just seconds later. Jonathan Bell, who had been shopping for a mother’s day present, died at the scene. Timothy Parry, who had been buying football shorts, died six days later from his injuries. A coded warning 14 minutes earlier had warned a bomb would explode outside Boots in Liverpool. Cheshire police were also alerted, but it had been too late to evacuate.

The victims:

• Jonathan Ball, 3, from Warrington

• Timothy Parry, 12, from Great Sankey, Warrington

Colin Parry, the father of Timothy, said: “I would say to Gaddafi’s son: if you yourself are a father, can you imagine your 12-year-old son going out to the shops to buy football shorts and the next time you see him he is in a hospital bed with his head completely bandaged because his head and face have been shattered by shrapnel from a bomb placed in a bin by terrorists, would he contemplate that before he dismisses out of hand the request.”

Canary Wharf bombing, London docklands

9 February 1996

A 1,000lb bomb exploded near Canary Wharf, killing two men, injuring 39 and causing an estimated £85m damage. The attack ended a 17-month ceasefire during which Irish, British and American leaders were attempting to broker a political settlement. The device, which was concealed in a lorry that had been shipped over from Ireland and driven down from Scotland, exploded at about 7pm on Friday evening. The two men who were killed worked in News Stop 2000, a nearby newspaper kiosk. Police had received coded warnings that a bomb had been planted in South Quay station and were attempting to evacuate the area when the blast took place. Both Canary Wharf and Heron Quay towers were evacuated, disrupting the operations of the businesses inside – including The Daily Telegraph. A second explosion, caused by a gas leak, prompted fears of further bombs.

The victims:

• Inan Ul-haq Bashir, 29, newsagent, from Streatham, south London

• John Jefferies, 31, newsagent, from Bromley, Kent.

Jonathan Ganesh, who was scarred and left partially deaf in the Canary Wharf blast, said: “Please God this won’t fail but if it does fail the Government in the UK will have failed its people. Scotland released the Lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds, but now it’s Libya’s turn.”

Omagh bombing, County Tyrone

15 August 1998

A 500lb Semtex, oil and fertiliser bomb killed 28 people and injured 220 on a busy high street, in what is widely regarded as the worst single incident of the Troubles. The victims spanned Catholics, Protestants, young and old. Two unborn twins and a pair of Spanish tourists were also killed. Many parents and children were shopping for school uniform for the new term, while others were awaiting a carnival later in the day. The bomb, which exploded at 3.10pm, had been left in a stolen red Vauxhall Cavalier by the Real IRA splinter group. The stolen car was driven into Omagh by two men and parked outside a drapery shop, in which nine people died. Police officers, medical staff and witnesses reported horrific scenes. The explosion shocked international onlookers, with several leaders claiming it prompted them to redouble their efforts to secure a peace settlement.

The victims:

• Breda Devine, 1, from Omagh

• Fernando Blasco Baselga, 12, schoolboy from Madrid

• Rocio Abad Ramos, 23, teacher from Madrid

• James Barker, 12, schoolboy from Buncrana

• Oran Doherty, 8, schoolboy from Buncrana

• Sean McLoughlin, 12, schoolboy from Buncrana

• Frederick White, 60, retired, from Omagh

• Bryan White, 27, horticulturalist, from Omagh

• Esther Gibson, 36, factory worker, from Beragh

• Olive Hawkes, 60, from Omagh

• Brenda Logue, 17, schoolgirl from Omagh

• Gareth Conway, 18, student from Omagh

• Jolene Marlow, 17, schoolgirl from Eskra

• Alan Radford, 16, schoolboy from Omagh

• Elizabeth Rush, 57, shopkeeper from Omagh

• Philomena Skelton, 49, housewife from Drumquin

• Veda Short, 56, shop worker from Beragh

• Ann McCombe, 48, shop worker from Omagh

• Geraldine Breslin, 43, shop worker from Omagh

• Aiden Gallagher, 21, mechanic from Omagh

• Samantha McFarland, 17, schoolgirl and shop worker from Omagh

• Lorraine Wilson, 15, schoolgirl from Omagh

• Julia Hughes, 21, university student from Omagh

• Deborah Anne Cartwright, 20, shop worker from Omagh

• Brian McCrory, 54, engineer from Omagh

• Mary Grimes, 66, retired maternity nurse from Beragh

• Avril Monaghan, 30, housewife from Omagh

• Maura “Mossie” Monaghan, 1, from Omagh

Michael Gallagher, who lost his lost his 21-year-old son Aiden, said that victims were being “sacrificed on the altar” for oil and money and warned that it would be a “betrayal” if its support was not carried through.

“For reasons best known to the Government, they have decided to built normal relations but there is no doubt in my mind this is about gas and oil and ultimately money,” he said. “The sacrifice on the altar here is really the victims.”